The adoption of new Instructional Technology (IT) should be well thought out with the goal of improved learning central to the planning and implementation process. Presently, there are university programs that help faculty acquire and incorporate new technologies into their teaching. While these programs are important and beneficial, much greater and timely support is necessary for acquiring appropriate equipment, facilities, and training. While encouraging the incorporation of IT throughout campus’, institutions must also recognize the costs involved: costs for equipment, upgrading facilities, maintaining equipment and facilities, and training faculty, staff and students. Funding and support for instructional technologies should be added to the ongoing support for affective traditional approaches.
The involvement of new IT involves some risk. Faculty who adopt IT may not possess the skills to fix a problem if something goes wrong and therefore view it a failure. Even if nothing goes wrong, faculty members may not feel confident or comfortable using the new approach for the first time, and thus view it as a failure. Such risks are clearly reduced by slow incorporation of the IT technology within courses rather through a complete restructuring of courses. Self, peer, and tenure review of teaching must take into account the time required for experimentation with new IT.
“One of the enduring difficulties about technology and education.” According to Dr. Martha Stone Wiske, co-director of the Educational Technology Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, “is that a lot of people think about the technology first and the education later.”
Schacter, J. (1998) “The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement: What the Most Current Research Has to Say” Retrieved November 1, 2009 from website: www.milkenexchange.org
Teaching Academy University of Wisconsin-Madison, (1997) “Perspectives on Instructional Technology” Retrieved November 1, 2009 from website: teachingacademy.wisc.edu/archive/About/itwhitepaper.pdf
WELCOME
Thank you for becoming a part of this journey in researching the diverse perspectives of online education.
Explore and involve yourself in this investigation of opinions and beliefs as we consider the pros and cons of this innovative facet of the learning environment.
Blog Archive
Followers
Contributors
2 comments:
I am often asked by schools if they should have a 'laptop' program or a 1:1 computing program. I tell them No. You should have an engaged learner program, which focuses on the student, not the tech. Your point about putting it second is correct. Also I have never been asked that by a company! Interesting, huh?
I think once education degree programs begin instituting classes on using technology, like the ones we are learning here, it will make a smoother transition to the classroom.
Post a Comment